you are all probably VERY busy with your beautiful babies. We have shared and long journey together and I would love to continue sharing notes on new mommies.
My son is now 6 weeks old and doing great!!! I can't believe how fast he's grown!
He is now almost 11.5lbs.
I am pumping milk as I had to go back to work 4 weeks post-partum.
It's been hard leaving him behind on the days that I work but fortunately it's only 2.5 days a week.
Would love to hear from you all.
Have a wonderful Holiday Season.
Nancy

Hello, ladies! Like Nancy I would also love to hear how everyone's babies are doing. Our son is growing like crazy and cooing and smiling a lot. His little smiles just melt my heart. He's now almost 13 weeks and weighing 11 lbs. How are your babies sleeping at night? Our little guy is not a great sleeper. I count myself lucky if he sleeps one 4-hour stretch and then from there it's usually 2-hour stretches.

CHARR!!!!!!!!!! You can't imagine how excited I am to hear from you. I was starting to believe that after giving birth, nobody was going to keep in touch. While the milestones during pregnancy were great to discuss about, the growth of our babies is just as exciting.
First of all, if you recall, I had opted NOT to do an amnio. We were blessed with a healthy baby boy on Nov 9, at 39 weeks. Deliviery went smoothly except for a very nasty tear. All is forgottennow, though.

Our peanut is 9.5 weeks and weighs 13.7lbs. He was born almost 8lbs. He initially lost a lot of weight but as you can see, he is growing like a plant!

Are you breastfeeding, Charr? I tried for a couple of weeks, was starting to get successful but then had to go back to part-time work 4 weeks after the deliviery, so I am pumping and he is getting 100% breastmilk for now.
It takes up about 2 hours of my time each day but it is well worthed.

He got his 2months shots the other day. He was really fussy for the rest of the day.

Did you peds recommend any vitamins. Mine recommended tri-visol with iron by enfamil.

SLEEP: it seems like our boys are in synch. Mine sleeps 3-4 hours for one strech , then 2-3 hours until the AM. Typically goes to bed at 10, wakes up at 2, then 4 then 6. Our peds said that given his milk intake, which was about 34 oz/day (4oz every 2-3 hours), he should be able to sleep through the night soon. We are anxiously awaiting for that! LOL

CHARR, keep me posted how posted how your son is doing and we will exchange notes. Hopefully the other ladies will respond too. I actually encountered a post by ASPOTOFTEA in the pregant after treatment section.
Have a great weekend.
Nancy

Nancy - good to hear back from you! I did start out breastfeeding but he is now on formula. His pediatrician has not recommended any vitamins. Has yours said when to start solids? Ours recommends rice cereal at 4 months and then veggies and fruits at 7 months. As for sleeping, he actually had one night recently where he slept 7 hours straight which was a dream! But since then, he's done some nights where he only does 3-hour stretches, some nights a 5-hour stretch. He's all over the place. Hopefully one of these days he'll get into a routine of sleeping through the night.

If any other ladies are still checking in, I hope you're all doing well and enjoying your little ones.

the peds has not discussed feeding yet, but I'll ask at the next apointment.
I am still pumping, but I think I might stop in a month or so because it is becoming really draining pumping 5-6 times a day and washing all the parts forthe pump.
Funny you mentioned the 7 hour sleep. He pulled that yesterday, and as you said, it was like a dream!!! LOL
We transitioned him from the bassinet to the crib 3 days ago and were especting the worse but he pleasantly suprised us: one night 6 hours, one 5.5 and then the big 7. He was really getting cramped in the bassinet now that he's almost 25 inches!
How often does your baby eat and how many ounces?
As far as vitamins, he is getting tri-visol by enfamil.
How are YOU doing? Are you back at work?
Some days I feel REALLY drained, others much better.
Keep me posted.
Have a great day.
Nancy

Just checked in for the first time in ages - I have been way too busy to go online!! I am so lucky on the sleep front. After the first few hell weeks of being up what felt like constantly he is now on a happy schedule of sleeping from about 9:30pm-6am at which point I wake him up, breastfeed, put him back in the pack n play in our bedroom, and go to work (4 days a week). My husband gets up with him around 9:30 am for his next feeding. I pump 2x at work, which is usually enough to cover what he consumes during the day (approx 12-15 oz). I produce a lot, so sometimes I also pump around midnight so I won't end up with Hindenboobs by the morning.

Yes, I am still breastfeeding but it was HELL for the first couple months. HELL. Two things I did not know: 1) It is possible to get yeast infections in your breasts and it feels like somebody ground broken glass into your nipples, 2) Trauma to the breasts (like from a poor latch and yeast infections) can cause Raynaud's Phenomenon in your nipples. In point of fact, I had never even heard of Raynaud's before. (For those others of you who haven't, it's spasms in your blood vessels and it HURTS.) With the help of an absolutely amazing nurse practitioner specializing in breastfeeding we figured out why I was in so much pain, and I am now able to feed him at least 95% pain free. He is all happy and healthy and chubby, which totally makes up for everything.

I already gave him a cold over Christmas, so we have had lots of fun experience with the nose-sucky-outy-thing (yay!) You are all so good at remembering the exact weights. Sean hasn't been to the doctor in over a month so I have no idea what he weighs and don't remember what he did then. The only thing I remember is being happy that he jumped from 5th percentile at birth to 30th percentile last month - and he was 75th percentile for length! As long as he still looks chubby I'm not going to worry about it.

Great to hear from you, Wondercat! So did you do anything special to get your son to sleep so great at night? Ours can't seem to get on a schedule like that and has even gotten worse again lately where he's waking up every couple of hours.

WONDERCAT: Great ti hear from you! Congrats on the progress of your baby! And let me tell you, I am jealous of your baby's sleeping schedule!
You must give us your secret!!! :-)
CHARR: Don't feel bad. My peanut is also unpredictable. A couple of times he slept 7 hours, then the next day it was 5.5, 3, 3 again. Now he usually sleep 5 hours, wakes up, sleeps again 3 hours, then wakes up again.
I am still pumping though I'm getting really tired. I pump 5-6 times a day.
Wondercat: you're only pumping 3 times? Oh but you're also breastfeeding so that makes sense.
Peanut is due to see the peds next Monday so I'll keeo you guys posted.
Great yo hear from you guys again!
Nancy

hope all is well with everyone. How are your babies doing? Would love to hear updates!
CHARR: is your baby's sleep schedule getting any better?
Mine is still doing the 5-3-3- stretch. At least I am getting the first 5 hours of straight sleep!
He saw the peds on Monday. He said his progress is excellent. He is almost 16lbs and 25 inches tall. He has one undescended testicle which is now down. My concern is that he has one side that is flat, called, I guess plagiocephaly, from him sleping on his back and having had some torticolitis of the neck which makes him turn on one side more than the other,but that is now resolved. the ped recommended as much tummy time as possible but he hates it, and we are working on it gradually.
If it does not improve in its own, which it should as the brain expands, there is a helmet that he can wear to correct it, but I hate that idea.
Anyhow, we'll see.
Hope to hear from you guys soon.
Take care,
Nancy

Nancy - our son has a flat side as well. He was born with it that way because of how he was positioned in the womb and now the flattness continues because he favors his head turned to that side when he's lying down and sitting. The doctor says the neck muscles on that side need to lengthen and that should happen as he gets stronger. He also doesn't like tummy time much and will only tolerate it for short periods of time before he starts protesting. I'm concerned about it as well. I'm going to talk more to his peds about it on Tuesday as he gets his 4-month shots then. As for sleeping, it's still hit and miss. He had one night this week where he did 6 hours straight but then other nights he woke up every 2 hours. It's not that he's hungry every time he wakes up like that so I don't know what causes him to wake.

OK, this is now going to be my third time trying to post a reply. The last two times I lost it. The posts, that is. I'll probably lose the other "it" if that happens again though...

Tummy time - Like all the others, Sean also hates it. At least now he just sucks on his hand while on his tummy which means that he doesn't immediately freak out like he used to. Fortunately he has always had really strong neck muscles so I'm not too concerned about it. I also put him in the bumbo seat thingie a few times a week at least which I think is also good for strengthening those muscles.

Sleeping - I don't know exactly how I got so lucky with him. My best guess is that it's because he naps so well and frequently during the day. When he doesn't nap he gets all upset and beside his little self, then he doesn't sleep as nicely at night. It's surprising to me how little time he needs to spend awake. And it took some time to start recognizing the "I'm tired" wah's as opposed to the "I want boobie" wah's. For the most part we get 8 hours out of him every night and I'm not complaining!

Flat heads - We have lucked out on that, too. When he was first born I mostly put him in to sleep on his side (which is what he preferred) so it only took a few weeks for him to stop favoring looking over his left shoulder. Now he sleeps on his back all the time but he switches up which side his head faces.

Pumping - Just had a really bad week and a half of hardly getting anything out, which turned out to be the start/duration of my first real period since giving birth. I just remembered why I didn't miss those AT ALL! I'm only truly hoping to make it to about 6-7 months with the breastfeeding since it really is a challenge with working full time, especially since my lactation room at work (aka "Hoth") is this really creepy little cold, dirty room that I have to walk 10 minutes outside in the snow and cold to reach. And yet I'm supposed to be groveling and grateful that they even have a lactation room at all... In any event I think he's ready to start cereal soon so that will ease the pressure to produce somewhat.

He goes to the pediatrician next week so I will finally know how much he weighs and all that other good stuff. I'm still trying to remain mostly ignorant of what all his so-called milestones are so I don't turn into one of those moms who freak out if their baby is 2 days late cooing. He seems super happy, chubby, healthy, strong and playful.

Oh, and I would really recommend you to bring your babies in to the fertility clinic to say thank you. I just had Sean in another part of the hospital last week to have cystic fibrosis testing (it was negative, he is a carrier but that's it) when the fertility clinic coincidentally called my cell phone to ask me what the outcome of my pregnancy was, presumably for their success rate data. I decided to stop in, and they were so delighted to see us. They don't ever end up seeing most of the babies they help us create, so he was surrounded by a throng of lab techs, nurses, and doctors full of smiles thanking ME for bringing him in! I was especially sure to thank "whoever picked out the exact sperm" which the techs got a kick out of.

It made me think though, and I wanted other opinions. As it happened there was only one couple there waiting. But it got me wondering if couples who didn't have babies yet would be depressed/upset to see a baby, or if it would give them a hopeful feeling to see somebody from their clinic who had a successful cycle. I think I would have felt a kind of bittersweet hopefulness, if that makes sense. How about you all?

it was wonderful reading about how well your son is doing! And congrats on hanging in there with the pumping despite the "challenge". Visiting the fertiltiy clinic is a great idea. I acutally called my Ferility Doc to inquire about what to do just in case we decided to go for #2, as I still have 5 emryos in the "freezer". Not that I feel ready for it right now as I am exhausted, but being that I turned 40 only a few days after peanut was born, I feel that I don't have that much time to wait.But first I want to finish the 6 months of pumping and then we'll see.I am jaleous of Sean's 8 hrs of sleep but yesterday he pulled one also. But everytime he has a long stretch, the next time he pulls a short one again! Please keep us updated, and have a wonderful weekend.Nancy

Hi Ladies!! I didn't think to check this thread until now, so I'm really sorry I've been MIA, but if you all will be posting here, then I shall too.

So glad to hear that all your little ones are doing well. Sounds like Sean, Peanut and Noah are all doing so good!

Sounds like we all are having similar experiences.

Fox is a little over 13 pounds at this point. Unoffical weight via our Wii hehe. Violet is a little over 12 pounds. They will be 4 months old on March 4. On March 15 they go for their 4 month visit/2nd round of shots. blech.

Tummy time- I've been stressing over this! So glad to hear that I'm not alone in that Fox HATES it. Violet hangs with it a little longer than her brother. We try a few times a day but seriously, Fox gets pissed. So we've been trying other creative ways to get him to excercise those neck muscles.

They both are grabbing things slowly now, which is cute. Violet has discovered her volume. The first time she screeched really loud, she scared Fox- he started crying. Now, I swear he just glares at her when she shrieks. hehe. He's quieter, but he likes to "talk" when in his bouncy chair. They both love to sit by the kitchen and watch us wash their bottles hehe.

Sleep- nighttime sleep is going very well. We start the bedtime routine at 8:30. Takes about an hour, and we try to get them into the cribs by 930-945. One bad thing is that they sit in their chairs until they get drowsy, then into the crib. We have to stop doing that, or they will be too used to it.

They sleep most nights pretty long stretches but it varies. Usually from 10 until about 3am, one wakes for a feed, then we wake the other one to eat, then they wake for the day around 7am. Some nights they will sleep from 10 until 4:30!! That's impressive.

Naps- we are just now going to try a nap routine. They have been napping in their chairs, whenever they want to, and seem to do fine with that, but the last week, neither has napped well, so I think it's time to establish naptime in the crib. We are going to do one upstairs in the nursery and one downstairs int he pack and play, since we're sure they are going to cry. It's gonna be tough, and we aren't fans for cry it out, but we are prepared for a little fussing. I'll keep you guys posted.

I'm really curious as to what you do for naps? Or what is done, if you are back to work and your little one is in day care? This is one area I'm really clueless on.

Feeding- Violet still nurses at least twice a day. Fox usually gets two bottles of breastmilk a day. Then they are on formula. I tried, lord I TRIED, but with two it was so hard as their appetites grew to keep up with them. In the beginning it was fine, they only drank 2 oz! But now, forget it. They still get some though, so I try not to beat myself up about it.

Wondercat, I got a plugged duct about two months ago. OMG. That was so painful, and it was odd, at a checkup, my OB said oh yeah this is plugged, and she massaged it, and it totally popped! And it was clear from then on.

Oh, yes, Violet's head is perfectly round, but Fox has one side that is sorta flat. We try to encourage him to lay on the other side, if he's on the playmat and turns his head. As for tummy time, we also try to trick him into working the neck by having my husband do "flying" with him. When he holds Fox over him, Fox naturally lifts his head. So, we figure that sorta counts!

Well, Wondercat, Charr, Nancy, I'm really glad all of you are doing well, and that I checked in here! Hope we can keep chatting about life as a new mommy!